The 528 Cafe

You can judge a great breakfast place based on the simple items versus the specialty items. I had scrambled eggs, a side of bacon, and a toasted English muffin and it compelled me to write this at the table. Eggs were perfectly cooked and served hot. Bacon thin and crispy (per my request) and the English muffin was toasted to perfection with just the right amount of butter. Such a simple breakfast, but perfectly cooked in every way. Service is super friendly too. This is the real deal. I wish I had taken a photo, but it’s gone.
P. S. My autocorrect keeps changing English muffins to elvish muffins. Thought I’d share that with you.

My husband and I had lunch here recently. The service was great. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. I had a grilled cheddar and tomato sandwich. It was delicious! My husband enjoyed the blueberry pancakes and paid extra for real maple syrup. Not sure why any restaurant would serve fake maple syrup by the way. I will be coming back and recommend for the good service and eats.

Great breakfast. The service is always really friendly. The pancakes are fantastic!

Stopped by here for lunch. Great atmosphere and décor. I had the pear brie melt special and my daughter had pancakes. Everything was delicious and the wait staff were very attentive and pleasant. We’ll definitely be going back.

Have visited this restaurant when things were slow, and when it was crazy busy. Both times the service was excellent and the food did not disappoint; it certainly met the expectations for a $$ café. We’ll be back.

Average overpriced food. Absolutely terrible waitress. Bad coffee. Harassed through the meal by flies… Never Again!

So outrageously expensive!!! Food is sub par as well, if you’re going to serve real corned beef hash it should have flavor!!! Bread and cream cheese are not expensive items, «stuffed» French toast was NINE bucks! Never going again…

We stopped here for lunch on the way into Great Barrington from the airport. Service was speedy! Very quick turn around– which is good if you are in a rush.
Food was typical diner food, nothing special but decent. A good variety — and friendly staff. Definitely a «hometown» diner feel and lots of Great Barrington pride. Is stop here again.

BLT was great and the soup was nice and hot. The people and the owners are always very nice to us. We give it two thumbs up.

Great place to take kids, and good food including breakfast all day. House-​made corned beef hash was great. Fast and friendly service; location outside the hubbub of downtown GB, easy parking.

Food was good. coffee was good… Loved the variety especially having a child with food allergies. We were vacationing in Lee and wanted to find somewhere yummy to eat. This was it! Would recommend to families or couples of all ages.

Super friendly staff and great menu. Perfect find on the ride home from VT skiing.
Had fresh soups, great salads and sandwiches and a kids menu too. Lots of vegetarian options also. We will definitely be back.

Ok. Just ok. Except for the coffee. The coffee was straight up horrible. As in OMG I didn’t know you could get coffee this bad outside of a vending machine. The food was nice, and fast. The staff was nice. It was alright for a quick breakfast bite, if you get coffee elsewhere. Knocking a start off because of that, sorry, but there is no reason to have coffee that bad in this day and age.

The décor is cute and welcoming. Service was excellent. Very large breakfast and coffee/​tea selection in my opinion. Portion sizes were large, I even brought some home. A little pricey for breakfast but it was worth it for the freshness in the food and the quality in the service. We will be back again for sure!

I’m originally from New Mexico and like to try huevos rancheros, even in this part of the country, to see what the chef/​cook will do with it. Though I rarely get something that tastes authentic, I often get a tasty dish. This was not. I think the «salsa» was actually green chile jelly.. . It sort of had that consistency and a very odd, possibly vinegary taste. Indescribable, and not in a good way. The chorizo was okay. The tortillas were fried past crispy and tough to cut. On top of all that, the coffee was weak/​watery. Ick.

This would have been a four star rating except for the service. I had a Chef salad for lunch and it was very well made. Fresh ingredients, large portion sizes. The place is clean and nicely decorated. And the prices– for a southern berkshire tourist town eatery– were fair. You pay more at other GB establishments for less food. It was a hot day and the air conditioning was at a comfortable level.
The problem was the service. We went on a weekday-​during lunch hour. Not too many people dress in long sleeve shirts and ties on a 90 degree day in July except those who are working –which we were– which meant we did not have a lot of time to sit around like the other 75% of the customers (tourists) who were there enjoying their dining experience at a slower pace. Great for them, but it should have been obvious to the server that we needed to move in and out more quickly.
Server did take our order right away. The food came out surprisingly fast. Good. Good.
But then the server went missing for the rest of our meal. No check in by the server with the expected «how is everything?» usual question. Since it was a hot day, we went through our drinks fast but since the server never came back, we did not get to reorder more. And we would have. Bad. Bad. I wonder how much revenue was lost by 528 today by people like us not getting asked if we want more to drink?
Anyway…
Then we (three of us) finished and waited, and waited, and waited with our empty plates and glasses in front of us… no server… we were doing the head bob turnaround parrot perch thing looking for her to catch her eye. Five minutes… no server. Finally I spotted her up near the front, at a register talking to a customer. The payer of our party had to actually walk up across the place to go pay the bill. I’m afraid we might still be there otherwise.
I am writing this review because I have eaten at 528 at least twice before and both of those times I could say it was a similar experience, although a little better than it was this time: Good food, good portions, clean nice place, fair prices… but service seems a little bit lacking. Don’t get me wrong… everyone is friendly… staff attitude is not the problem…
I will go again, but I hope someone from 528 sees this and works on their service a little more. They might get five stars.

As a weekend adventurer, I enjoy going to new places to go hiking. This weekend my path led through Great Barrington and past the 528 Café. I promised myself I would stop on the way back — I consider myself to be a professional sandwich eater and I knew this would be the motivation I needed to finish my hike.
As promised, I stopped at the restaurant on my way back home. It was beyond amazing! From the small town feel, to a friendly wait staff and delicious food, I can say this was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.
It’s safe to say I found my new sandwich spot when visiting the Berkshires.

Just came from a nice breakfast, good food and coffee, nice staff, after they warm up.
I had stuffed French toast which was tasty, breakfast burrito looked good, menu had a lot of selection.
Not a bare bones place, a little pricey for everyday but will definitely go back.

The homemade corned beef hash is to die for! Also, the blueberry pancakes were light and fluffy! Warm, friendly service… A must in Great Barrington.

I’ve never done this before, I’d like to let it be known. The main street café in stock bridge is certainly my favorite standby in the lower Berkshire area for fresh and friendly-​served breakfasts. I’m curious to see how this new café is and I’d like to give it the benefit of the doubt seeing as it is far from open.